Daine and Numair at UAA
by usagi fan
Summary: Numair, a professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage, meets a certain lady on the bus, we all know who, and just happens to keep bumping into her. DN. Please review!
1. Missing Token

Summary: Numair, a professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage, meets a certain lady on the bus (we all know who), and just happens to keep bumping into her. DN.

Disclaimer: I, sadly, don't own Numair, Daine, or anything else in this story except for the plot, which is mine!

This was originally going to be a series of songfics, but, I couldn't find enough songs that screamed at me, so most chapters will have a little bit of song that goes along with them in one way or another…This chapter was supposed to go completely different, but when I was typing it, Numair decided it would be fun to…well you'll see.

My life is brilliant.  
My love is pure.  
I saw an angel.  
Of that I'm sure.  
She smiled at me on the subway.  
She was with another man.  
But I won't lose no sleep on that,  
'Cause I've got a plan.

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.  
You're beautiful, it's true.  
I saw your face in a crowded place,  
And I don't know what to do,  
'Cause I'll never be with you.

Your Beautiful by James Blunt

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Great, I can't find my papers. This year sure is starting out great…Now if I can just find those papers!' Numair Salmalin looked over his messy workroom. And that was an understatement. Books were in piles, some with paper in them, covered with scattered notes. Papers, maps, and other random things were lying everywhere. He went over to his desk and, under a rather large stack of papers, found the folder that was bulging with papers for the classes he taught at the University of Alaska Anchorage (A/N: just pretend with me that Anchorage is bigger than it is and that UAA is actually a top ranking school…like that could ever happen). Numair happened to be arguably one of the best professors in the US. He taught classes mainly dealing with the anatomy of animals, though he was known to be a private tutor to the few students he found exceptional talent in. But one thing was for sure, in his classes; you either make it, or break.

Numair hastily ran out of his penthouse apartment and called for the elevator. Running out the door, he ran, full on to the bus stop, arriving right when the bus pulled in. He fed his bus tokens into the machine, and made his way to the back of the bus. That is, until he heard a commotion behind him. A beautiful, no gorgeous, woman talked to the bus driver, obviously annoyed. Walking back up to the front, he heard the two arguing…

"I ran here and forgot one of my tokens. You know I am a regular, I promise to give them to you tomorrow," said the woman.

"I can't just start making an exception for you. You either need to give me the token, or else get off the bus," argued the bus driver.

By now, Numair had finally managed to push his way back to the front. He wordlessly handed the bus driver a token and then grabbed the lady's hand, pulling her towards a seat so the bus could start moving. Once seated, Numair let go of her hand and looked over her. She was quite a bit younger than him, about 5'5", with lovely brown hair that cascaded down her shoulders. She had stormy blue-grey eyes filled with determination and annoyance, full lips and a stubborn chin. Numair could tell she was not one to give up. He heard her mumbled at him, obviously quite mad. He replied, "what was that, sweet?"

"I said I could have handled it. And don't call me sweet," she replied bitterly.

"First of all, you had no way of getting another token. If you're mad at me for that, you can just pay me back, though, truly, I don't mind in the least if you don't. And secondly, I don't know your name, so unless you can give me something better to call you, I'll just keep calling you that. Okay, sweet?" He added this last part just to tease her and really wasn't expecting a response, much less her telling him her name.

"It's Veralidaine, but just call me Daine," she said, refusing to make eye contact with him.

"Nice to meet you, Daine. Numair, your knight in shining armor, at your service," he replied doing a mock bow, grinning mischievously, his eyes dancing never looking away from her stormy eyes.

Putting on a teasing voice, Daine said, "My, Numair, do you flirt so outrageously with every girl you meet, or did you just wake up this morning saying, 'If I meet some girl who needs to borrow a bus token, I will sit here and tease her, hoping to woe her maiden heart'?"

"Hey, how do you know I don't do this with every girl I meet? What makes you think I just decided to get out of my usual rut, just sitting on the bus, growling at those gorgeous women who beg to sit next to me, to help you? For all you know, I could do this with every lady who needs help," matching her teasing voice.

"Yah right, Numair, I think the whole gorgeous women begging to sit next to you is a little exaggerated," Daine replied, teasingly again, though Numair could see a flash of hurt pass through her beautiful eyes.

"What, you think I am lying?" fake outrage filling his voice. "Any gorgeous woman like that would just beg for me to help them, let alone sit with them," he said, gesturing to an old woman, making Daine burst out laughing, earning her glares from the people around her, mainly the old lady who Numair pointed at.

"I thought you would have a little higher standards, maybe ones at least within 20 years of your age," her eyes shining with mirth.

"You have no idea how hard it is to find a woman that meets those standards these days," mock sadness playing in his voice.

"Yah, like you have a lot of trouble finding a woman…"

"The same can be said with you…"

Silence filled the seat for a while. When the bus was pulling up at Numair's stop where he needed to switch buses, he asked Daine, "So where do you work?"

Seeming somewhat distracted, looking out the window while walking to the front of the bus, she managed to say, "Actually, right now I am a student." Obviously spotting what she was looking for, she turned to Numair and said, "Hope to see you again!" then rushed into the outstretched arms of a young man with blond hair and, unfortunately, strikingly good looks. A voice in Numair's head said, 'Come on Numair, you knew someone that beautiful had to have a boyfriend at least. It's not like you are ever going to see her again. You can have almost any girl you want, just not her.'

'Yes, but she is the one I want…'

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is my first Modern Fic, so if the characters seem a little OOC, please give me suggestions on how to make it better. Numair just wanted to flirt with Daine, and who am I to face the wrath of a certain Black Robed Mage of ours? Please review and tell me if I should even bother continuing…


	2. And the Blond is

Disclaimer: The usual. You know the drill

A/N: Here is chapter 2! I'm planning on posting a chapter once a week once school starts again (one more day of freedom…). The song is the same, sadly.

_Yeah, she caught my eye,  
As we walked on by.  
She could see from my face that I was,  
Flying high,  
And I don't think that I'll see her again,  
But we shared a moment that will last till the end._

_You're beautiful, You're beautiful.  
You're beautiful, it's true.  
I saw your face in a crowded place,  
And I don't know what to do,  
'Cause I'll never be with you._

_Your Beautiful by James Blunt_

A/N: at the beginning of each chapter, there will be a little bit of what happened last chapter in Daine's POV, but it won't be anywhere near as descriptive as Numair's because, well, you already know what happened. This one will be longer than the others because I need to put in a little background…

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Daine's POV 

_Daine was late for the bus, again. She worked for Onua Chamtong as a stable hand and helped Onua with her lessons at the Diamond H Barn across town, so, after feeding the horses, she had to ride the bus back across town, change so she didn't greet her new professors smelling like a horse, and run back to the bus stop to get the bus to midtown New Sagaya's to, then, change buses to get to the university. Every morning, same routine. And, to make matters worse, she must have dropped one of her bus tokens on the way. Great way to start the new year, right? She had ridden this bus for over 3 months and knew the bus driver, but no, he wouldn't let her pay him later. The only money she had on her was just enough for something at the Wendy's down the street from UAA for lunch. _

_Then this guy comes up, pays the driver and then grabs her hand and pulls her to the back of the bus. His hands were giant compared to hers, soft, but strong. And he was handsome! But that wasn't an excuse to embarrassing her. She didn't need his help. She started a new life, and she needed no one. She, angrily, muttered at him. And how did he reply? He called her sweet. Yes, sweet. She didn't even know the man, and here he was calling her sweet. Then he made some lame excuse about not knowing her name and, yet again called her sweet. "It's Veralidaine, but just call me Daine," she said hoping this would shut him up for a while. She really was in no mood to talk to anybody right now. Zach, one of the horses at the barn, died yesterday from a heart attack. But no, he couldn't be quiet, he said his name was Numair, and called himself a knight in shining armor a bowed as well as he could in the little space provided in the seat. She finally looked at him and, man was he hot. Like the tall and handsome sort. REALLY tall and handsome. He was around 6'5", and had raven black hair pulled back in a horsetail. Numair's dark brown, sensitive eyes were dancing mischievously. He was extremely well muscled, not the type that bulged overly, but he was by no means weak looking. Numair was obviously a man that could have any girl he picked. _

_She teased him, deciding to have fun. It wasn't like she was ever going to see him again. And he teased right back, mentioning how he was usually "growling at those _gorgeous_ women" who would beg to sit next to him. And that hit home. Daine mumbled something about how the gorgeous women thing was an exaggeration. She knew it wasn't likely, but she kind of wanted to be the only one he had sat on the bus and flirted with. 'Wait Daine' said that annoying little voice in her head. 'You have a boyfriend who loves you. You shouldn't be flirting with another man.' But, by then, she had grown to like Numair. Not like she liked her boyfriend, but more of like the guy friend that you have that tells you the boyfriend that dumped you doesn't deserve you. That kind of like. He must have seen how it hurt her because he pointed at an old woman riding in front of them saying that any gorgeous woman like that would be begging for him to help her. That got her laughing. She said he should have higher standards, maybe within 20 years of his age. She would have said 10, but a little part of her brain wanted to make sure she would be included in the age range of acceptable women. _

_The last thing he said before the seat went quiet, she would never forget. After she mentioned that it was doubtful that he had problems with women, he said, "The same can be said with you…" The bus pulled to a stop and that is when she remembered that her boyfriend was going to meet her where she changed buses so they could walk into school together. Numair asked where she worked and she replied, distractedly, that she was a student. After finding her boyfriend in the small crowd waiting to get into the bus, she turned to him and told him she hoped to see him again. Then she ran into her blond haired boyfriend's arms. He whispered into her ear, "I love you, Daine."_

"_I love you too, Perin."_

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_  
_

(Still Daine's POV)

Daine and Perin stepped onto the bus and worked their way to the back to find an empty seat. They managed to find one across from Numair's. Daine sent him a small smile, which he returned, though almost bitterly. But Daine couldn't think about what it had meant for long, because Perin's kisses on her neck started to distract her. She pulled her neck away from him and turned around to face him. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could Perin started.

"Daine, who is this Farant I heard about?" Daine put a finger to his lips to quiet him.

"He is one of my boss's students and it's not my fault he flirted with me." When she saw him start to speak again, she said, "And, as surprising as this may be to you, I love you and I'm not just going to leave you for the next guy I see."

"But how can you be so sure?" Perin asked after Daine finally let him talk. Daine just smiled at Perin, then got up and walked over to where Numair was sitting…

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Numair's POV

Numair was in a daze. He felt kind of bad smiling so stingily to her. It's not her fault that he was hoping she had no boyfriend. It wasn't until he heard someone sit down next to him that he broke free from his thought only to find the girl he was thinking about sitting next to him.

"Who is he?" he tried to ask without sounding jealous.

"Perin. We've been together for close to 3 months now. But he still thinks I'm going to leave him for some random guy on the street," frustration clearly in her voice. Now Numair was confused.

"I'm failing to see how I am helping in this situation," he said, braving a glance at Perin, who was red with suppressed anger. Daine, seeing what he was looking at only chickled slightly.

"I am trying to prove that I am not going to leave him even for someone as handsome as you," which made Numair blush slightly. "And that when I talk to a guy, I am not planning on suddenly leaving him to date this new guy."

"I would be just as worried as him if I was dating you," Numair said honestly.

"Thanks," Daine replied blushing. "I think it's because it took me a month for me to trust him enough for him to know where I live. Too many things have happened for me to trust guys easily…that is really strange. I usually don't tell people that, let alone guys. I haven't even told Perin that. He is going to be so mad if he…" Daine was cut off when Numair's hand silenced her mouth.

"Don't worry, it will be our little secret," he said, eyes filled with mischief, but also understanding.

Daine sighed and got up. "I guess I have tortured him enough. Hope to see you again," and, with that, she reached down and kissed him on the cheek, blushed, and then turned and walked back to Perin, who turned even more red, if that is possible, when he saw Daine kiss Numair, even if it was just on the cheek. Numair, smiling, turned back to look out the window, waiting for the bus to stop at the university.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

another chapter done, though I really thought that they would finally be at the university by now…

I don't really think of Numair as the bulky muscle, you know, the ones with the "vein"...he fills the shirt, but doesn't make it bulge...

'ducks rotten tomato' Sorry! I know, it's Perin! But don't worry, I promise it is DN. I am still thinking of all the things he could do to make Daine leave him, though I think I got an idea (though your ideas are more than helpful. Seriously, any ideas would help shape this story.). R&R would be appreciated immensely! and sorry for the length, I thought it would be longer, but I wouldn't be able to post it for a while...


	3. Professor Storkman

**Hello again! Sorry the update came so late, but my computer was all messed up last weekend and school just started so I couldn't update it until today. This chapter, unfortunately, doesn't have a song that goes along with it. Hope you like it.**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------(stupid dividers, keep on disappearing)  
**

Daine walked up to her next class's room. It was Mammalian Anatomy taught by the famed Professor Salmalin. Students either loved him, or hated him, though one thing was for certain; half of the class almost always drops out from the excessive homework. Thankfully, Daine wasn't taking many classes besides this one, hoping to focus more on work so she could actually pay for college and her apartment.

" Miss Sarrasri, what a pleasure seeing you here." Daine immediately recognized the voice. **(A/N: Now who could this be…?) **

"My, my, what a small world it is Mister Larse," she said in a teasing voice, turning around to hug her sandy blond haired, blue eyed friend, Evin Larse. He was one of the "Riders", a group of high school and college aged kids who learned to ride under the strict eye of Onua and Sarge, the main "backbreakers" as the Riders affectionately called them. A large group came in this year, so Daine helped out. Evin was one of her first friends there. Actually, one of her first friends in Anchorage. And one of the biggest troublemakers she knew. He loved to get on the bad side of people, though only by being honest, even if it was in a very blunt way.

"Yes, what a small world indeed." Smiling, Evin said, "the backbreakers brought over Professor Salmalin to teach us about the anatomy of a horse. This class is going to be hard, but," with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "I got plenty of blackmail information from Onua." They walked into class, then split up, Daine going into the second row and Evin taking the next available seat two rows behind her. The professor wasn't in the room yet, but that didn't surprising her after hearing about one year where he got so caught up in one of his experiments that he completely forgot he was supposed to be teaching.

He came into the classroom a few minutes later with a steaming hot cup of coffee. Setting it down on his cluttered desk, he looked up at the class and, to Daine's embarrassment, happened to be tall and handsome. Like Numair. Exactly like Numair. Daine ducked her head, her face slowly turning red. _I talked to my teacher without knowing it. I _flirted _with my teacher without knowing it. Gods, why me? _Professor Numair Salmalin started his beginning of the school year speech, obviously not realizing that the girl he was thinking about was sitting in his classroom of all places.

"Good Afternoon class. I'm Professor Numair Salmalin, your teacher for Mammalian Anatomy. I am sure you have heard…rumors about me, and I am please to announce that every single one of them are," Daine knew that this was the part where the teacher tells them that all the horror stories they had heard about them where completely and utterly untrue, "completely right, for the most part. Most of them have been exaggerated, though," but Professor Numair could not continue, because Daine's mischievous friend just couldn't keep quite any longer.

"Yah right, Professor, everyone knows you forgot about the class entirely a few years back. And you do tend to give insane amounts of work. You break almost half of your class every year."

"Ah, Evin Larse. Still getting in trouble I see," which made some of the class chuckle. "It is true that I 'break' half of my class every year, but that is mearly because I esxpect your best, and if you don't want to give it to me, then you had might as well leave this class now." A few people got up, out of their seats and left the room. "As I was saying before Larse here had to enlighten us with that thought of his, I don't care what you call me. Professor Numair, Professor Salmalin, just plain Professor, or even Numair are fine with me," but he was once again cut off by Evin, who just couldn't help it.

"Okay, Storkman." The Riders called Numair this when he came for lectured. Onua started calling him it when one of her students accidentally let his pet name slip.

"Anything BUT Storkman is fine by me. And thanks to your fellow classmate, we will be starting our first assignment today. You will be stuck writing a 20 page essay," insert groans here, "one the animal of your choice, covering their eating habits, breeding habits, family structure, anatomy," the whole class groaned again as the professor went on a list tangent **(A/N: Numair sure does love lists…) **"but I will be nice. You may work with another person, though I expect two reports from each of you. And, against my better judgment, I will let you pick your partners. You have 10 seconds." Numair stepped back, so he wouldn't get trampled in the extreme chaos that lie in front of him.

Evin quickly jumped out of his seat and hurried down to Daine. She was glad that she didn't need to find Evin in this frenzy that surrounded them. Evin walked over to her and threw an arm around her shoulders and said, above all the noise, "I got my partner right here, Storkman." Daine blushed, hoping that Numair wouldn't be able to hear him, not wanting to attract his attention. Unfortunately, Numair had been watching Evin, curious as to who he would pick as a partner. And that is when he saw her. The gorgeous lady he flirted with on the bus. The girl he had been thinking about all day. Daine. His student. Which means off limits. Well, she did have a boyfriend, but that could have been taken care of if not for this small obstacle. More like an extremely large obstacle. Great, just great. He briefly explained what each group would be in charge of doing, thankful that he had had this same assignment for so many years so he could just ramble it off while his thoughts drifted to a certain young lady sitting in this very room.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**I don't really like this chapter. I know what is going to happen at the end, but I am just not sure how to get there. Ideas are more than welcome. Just send me a review or an email. Actually, any review would be appreciated greatly. If my characters are starting to get OOC, please tell me. Thanks. Hope to have another chapter up soon.**


	4. Author's Note

**Warning, this is just an author's note.**

I promised I would never do this, but I have to say, this was necessary. I was really tempted to just give up on this story until I read the reviews I got one last time…and I decided I would keep writing it. But here is the problem. I know where I want the story to go, just don't know how to get there. That is why I am asking for a beta, but not one that would just check spelling and grammar for me. One that would be more of like a partner writer (this may be too much to ask for, but this really is my last hope for this story). Or if someone just wants to take it from me, just send me an email and I can tell you where I was going to go with it.

Also, brownie points for whoever realized that Faren (mentioned in first chapter) is in Wild Mage and happened to flirt with Daine. I was trying to put in as many book references as I could.

Also, for those that live in Anchorage, you might have realized that I was off a street, but to be frank, I never drive to UAA unless I am going to see a play or am going to the doctor's office.

This might be the last time you hear from me for this story, but if it is, I will put up the epilogue (my inspiration for the story) as a oneshot.

Hope to see you again,

Usagi fan-chan


	5. I'm Back and Hopefully for Good

Yes, I am hopefully back, though I am not promising anything. To clarify a few things, they met in August and it is now in December, with only two weeks to Winter Break.

* * *

Stiff formalities were the only words exchanged between Daine and Numair for several months. A few embarrassing run-bys happened occasionally, usually leaving one if not both of the members involved flustered and blushing for hours. Evin noticed this, but didn't want to interfere. He didn't want to push Daine to where she would stop trusting everyone again. Evin was the first to break through her barrier, but that feat had taken him 2 months to complete.

Perin was overjoyed to see the two of them far away from each other at all times. He would have reported Numair right away to get revenge for Daine going off with him if only Daine wouldn't also get repercussions. The Dean wouldn't believe Perin if he only said that Numair was acting inappropriately with a student when he would also withhold which student it was with.

Numair took these months without Daine hard. He tried to get out and see the world (Okay, so not the world, more of like multiple one-night stands), but it didn't stop the Bus Token girl from wandering into his head.

Daine had the same situation for the most part, excluding the one-night stands. She spent all her extra time with Perin, trying to keep busy. She felt awful for not being a devoted girlfriend, but also couldn't keep her Professor out of her head. The rides on the bus were the most excruciating. There was a silent agreement that Numair would sit in the back and Daine in the front, to limit the amount they would have to see each other. That is until one day, where are story picks up…

* * *

Daine's day so far had not started off well. She woke up late because Perin had turned off the alarm clock, so she ran to the bus, through the rain, without a raincoat, soaking her sweatshirt. When she got onto the bus, so reached into her pocket, only to find that her tokens were missing. _I put them in my raincoat because I knew it was going to be raining today!, _she though angrily. She got into the same argument with the bus driver that she had only 3 months before. Little did she know it would be the same in more than one way.

Numair, on the other hand, wasn't late because his alarm clock was shut off. He purposely slept through it, trying to mentally prepare himself for a class with Daine. Numair got up and was ready for work. He stepped onto the wet pavement, enjoying the onslaught of water drops landing on him. He walked swiftly to the bus, making sure to go around puddles so his pants and shoes would not get wet.

Numair stepped onto the bus and handed the bus driver his bus tokens and took his seat in the back. The bus went off to its next stop, the doors opening after it finally arrived. The people piled in, until he heard a familiar voice arguing with the bus driver. He smiled at the absurdity of it all, considering it had been exactly three months since the day they first met.

Numair stood up and walked down the aisle. He wordlessly handed the driver the tokens and pulled the wet brown haired, stubborn chinned girl to his seat in the back of the bus. Numair said jokingly, "Just think of what you would do without me here. You would be standing on the side of the road, drenched, with no way to get to school, sweet." He added on this last part, not to tease her as last time, but more of as an inside joke between friends.

Daine looked up at her savior, only to realize it was the guy she was trying to forget about. She chuckled at the joke they shared, and quickly added, "Stop calling me sweet," in a fake exasperated tone. Daine realized what she just did and froze, blushing, waiting to see what Numair would do.

Numair simply picked up his finger and put it to her lips, saying what he said three months ago, "Don't worry, it will be our little secret." With that, the tension broke. Everything was back to normal for the most part. No longer were met glances broken by blushing, nor sentences stopped when the other walks by. They acted as friends, for that was the best they could do to describe the situation they were in.

Numair asked how Daine had been and she replied that she had ran out of money to pay for college and her apartment, so she had moved in with Perin. He couldn't help but feel the familiar jealousy rise from his chest. He didn't let it show to Daine, however, not wanting to damage the fragile relationship they had finally rekindled. When Daine asked how he had been doing, he simply said how it was annoying that he couldn't talk to his best student he had had in years, especially when he wanted to ask her to be his private student. Daine froze at this in shock. She said, once she had withdrew from the shock of it all, "Really, me? Isn't there someone else better than me?"

Numair quickly replied, "No, there isn't. You have one of the highest grades I have ever had in this class. You go above and beyond my expectations. And you can somehow control Evin. You are amazing in more than one way. Why wouldn't I want you to be my private student?" Daine froze, yet again, absorbing all he had said. "You don't have to choose right now if this is what you want to do. Just give me an answer before Winter Break."

* * *

Perin was glad to see Daine happy again. That is, until he saw the man she was walking down the hallway with. It was the despicable Numair, the one man that he truly despised. But he would never let Daine know that.

Evin, on the other hand, was overjoyed to see that they hand finally made up and were now on speaking terms again. It was awkward when your best friend asks you to ask the teacher a question so they don't have to when in any other class, they raise their hand without a second thought to ask their question. And quite a few times, Numair would ask a clarification for what the question was and he would have to relay what Daine was whispering to him. Often this would end in Evin asking Numair to wait for a second and him turning to Daine so he could actually hear what she wanted him to say.

Class came and went. Daine remembers talking to Perin at one point, promising to be home for dinner. But she couldn't really concentrate fully on anything except for Numair and her being back on talking terms. She walked up to Numair after everyone had left and said, in a quiet whisper, "Yes," and then ran out the room, her blush rivaling the color of a tomato. Numair caught up with her and asked, "When do you want to start?"

"Whenever is fine with me."

"Well, how about we go over to the zoo and start our lessons today?"

"I have to work until 6, but after that I am free."

"Great, I'll pick you up there." Numair walked off , not needing directions, since the barn was owned by Onua, his long time friend.

Daine happily went off to work. It seemed that she was barely there, but what seemed like the few minutes she was there, she couldn't wait to see Numair and start her lessons. She was always fascinated by animals and loved them ever since she was a child. Daine had grown up in Hope, a small town by the freezing sea. This town had one street. She lived off about a 20 mile snow machine ride off that small street with her mother until everything turned wrong. The door opening ripped her from the memories that were resurfacing.

Onua came out and greeted Numair, giving him a hug. She stepped back and said, "You had better take care of her. She is one of the best stable hands I have had in years."

"Don't worry, I will," replied Numair. Daine grabbed her coat, leaving her horse jacket in the tack room, shouting a goodbye behind her. Numair opened the door for her and walked around the car and into his black Mercedes Benz car. He turned to her and asked, "Are you hungry?"

"I am, but shouldn't we just go to the zoo? It is right next door." The zoo was right next door. From the barn, you could hear the baaing from the sheep in the petting zoo, the trumpets of the elephant and the growls of the snow leopards and Siberian tigers.

Numair replied, "If you are hungry, we had better feed you. I can't have my student die of hunger on her first day. Also, I realized that I need to give you the text book we work out of. It would be kind of useless to go to a zoo when I can't actually show you what the animals look like inside. Anyways, I know of a great place to go." He pulled out of the small dirt parking lot in front of the barn and drove off down the street.

* * *

Don't expect frequent updates right now. Until I can get a beta or something like that, it will take a while for my creative juices to wield a product. But I am trying, slowly but surely. Also if you have an idea for what you want to happen, fill free to ask me and I will most likely find a way to put it in. Thanks to all of my reviewers. It was your reviews that guilted me into continuing. 


	6. Pizza to Die For!

I am back with yet another chapter. I have a freaking awesome beta, Daughter of Nature! Creative juices are flowing now! I will bore you no longer. Here it is…

* * *

Daine and Numair pulled up into a dirt parking lot off the highway. It was crowded with cars and people with buzzers, waiting to be called in. Numair pulled his car into an empty parking spot and stopped the car. He got out and walked over to the other side to open Daine's door for her. They walked across the large parking lot to a large wooden building. The neon sign displayed, "Moose's Tooth Pizzeria and Pub," for all to see.

Numair grabbed Daine's hand and walked through the crowd, occasionally pushing past one or two people that wouldn't move. Numair pulled Daine over to the hostess stand. Numair exchanged a few words with her, but they were lost to the sound of happy chatter and the occasional shout or laughter of the end of a joke.

They moved again, going down a hallway to another room that was filled with a few picnic tables and some other plain tables. The room was full, but it wasn't anywhere near as loud as the entrance room. The hostess showed them their table and gave them their menus.

"So what do you think?" Numair asked Daine.

"I never pictured you as a pizzeria type of person. You seem more like the type of person who likes restaurants with the names of the food too long and complex to remember," Daine replied.

"I like those restaurants well enough, but nothing can beat this place's pizza. What looks good to you?"

The waiter came and Daine let Numair pick what they would eat, trusting his judgment. The pizza arrived a little while later. Daine picked up an aroma filled slice and bit into it, tasting heaven on earth. Numair smiled, like he knew she would feel this way.

They discussed the schedule for their tutoring. It was decided that on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, they would have class after Daine's work. Also, next semester, Daine would just be a TA in the next level of the Mammalian Anatomy. Numair had high hopes for the amount they would manage to fit in the small two weeks they had left until Winter Break.

Numair paid for the bill, though Daine wanted to pay for her half, and they walked out into the cold. Numair drove Daine to Perin's apartment and dropped her off. Daine pulled out her key and opened the apartment door. Pulling off her winter gear, she walked around the corner to the kitchen and small table to find a delicious meal laid out for her and Perin. He walked up to her, gave her a peck on the lips and asked, "How was work?"

"Fine, the usual. One of the horses broke the wall of her hoof, so the farrier had to come in."

"Are you hungry?" Perin asked, pulling out a chair for Daine.

Daine looked up at him sadly, and said, "Perin, it looks great. I am so happy you put in all this effort just for me. But I forgot it was tonight, so I already had dinner…with Numair."

Perin looked like he was about to burst, but he calmed down and said, in a strained voice, "You had dinner with your teacher instead of your boyfriend, the guy you live with."

"I forgot. I'm sorry, it's just…"

"Shut up!" Perin stormed off to his room, leaving Daine stunned at the table.

She went over to a small closet and grabbed the blanket and spare pair of pajamas she always keeps there for times like this. It has only happened a handful of times, but Daine liked these for emergencies. She changed in the bathroom and then walked over to the couch, pulling the blanket over her and falling into a troubled sleep.

---------------------------------------------------------

The next day, Perin was nowhere to be seen, but that was to be expected since he had early classes. Daine got ready and went out to the bus and got on. She walked over to meet Numair, who was already waiting happily for her. He noticed her gloomy expression and asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"No, I just had a small fight with Perin." Numair looked like he was going to ask what it was about, but with one look from Daine, he decided to drop it. He decided to try to cheer her up instead.

"Today is Wednesday. That means you get a lovely lesson from me, your favorite teacher! I think today we should go to the zoo and see the elephant. She will be inside, but that doesn't really matter, considering they asked me to design a better house for her. I would usually give this to my 2nd year students, but they are busy working on the snow leopard enclosure, so I decided you and I could do it." Daine cheered up on this thought, glad to know she would have something to look forward to for the day.

* * *

This one is really short, I know, but they will hopefully be longer in the future. This one is kind of a filler. Now off to write the next chapter…

Thanks to ewasnow, eab4ever, SOPROL, hopelessromantic56, kaypgirl, and ImmortalLover the your reviews. I hope to get more soon hint, hint.


	7. Lessons, Questions, Sleep, and Much More

**I know it has been a while, but school is starting up and summer reading lists have not been finished. I'm such a procrastinator… I will bore you no longer. Here is the next chapter…**

* * *

Perin was less than pleased that HIS girlfriend could possibly dare to do this to him. She had dinner with her teacher! Daine was his, not Numair's! 'Daine will come back to me soon, though,' he thought, an evil grin spreading across his face. 'Or else she will get a rude awakening.' 

Daine felt guilty, though not for forgetting her dinner with Perin. She felt guilty for not feeling guilty. Daine hated it when Perin would over react like he did sometimes. He was usually a great boyfriend, always giving her attention. Sure, he was a little over possessive, but that was probably because he knew she still didn't fully trust him yet. And yet, she told Numair something she never dreamed of telling Perin. Daine decided to push this out of her head as she walked into Numair's classroom. All she had to do now was look forward to work and her lesson with Numair.

Unfortunately, things rarely go as planned. Daine ended up staying up half the night, her mind ruminating over Perin, Numair, and everything else. She ended up sleeping in class. Numair didn't bother waking her up, deciding to talk to her after class about this.

Numair told his students they could leave and Evin, looking over at Numair and then back at his friend, left the room. Numair came over and stirred her from her sleep. Daine tensed up, but relaxed when she saw it was Numair and not…well, she didn't want to get into that right now. Numair looked at her, concerned, and said, "Daine, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just tired. I didn't get much sleep last night…" She trailed off, hoping that Numair wouldn't dwell into the situation any further.

Numair, however, decided to press on. "Does this have anything to do with Perin? Because if it does, I'll—" He was cut off by Daine replying, defensively, "We had a fight. I couldn't sleep well. That is all there is to it."

"If that is what you want." He turned around and grabbed his briefcase and walked to the door. "I'll see you for the tutoring lesson. Just lock up when you are done. You can sleep here as long as you want." With that, he left the room, leaving a somewhat dazed and confused Daine, who was trying to figure out Numair. She stood up with a groan, collected her things, and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her, and headed off to work.

* * *

Thankfully, her work that day went smoothly, with no major problems, even though she was still slightly drowsy. She walked out of the barn, smiling, over to Numair who was sitting on a bench, waiting for Daine to come out. It seemed like he didn't feel the need to bring up their conversation this afternoon up, which suited her just fine. It was snowing, so both Daine and Numair were overjoyed that they would be inside the elephant's enclosure with heaters to keep them warm. 

They walked next door to the zoo and got in for free because of Numair. He grabbed Daine's hand and ran across the zoo to Maggie's enclosure and stepped inside. They shed their coats onto a bench by the entrance, and walked over to the glass overlooking the elephant's small house.

There were a few areas for specific purposes. One was for baths, another for play, with a large punching bag that she loved to play with and another with her food. Her trainer was in there with a large canvas and a cart full of paint and a few paintbrushes. Maggie was painting one of her famous pictures.

Daine happily watched Maggie select a new brush with her trunk from her trainer and dip it in a new color. She then brushed away at the canvas, painting a picture that would sell for thousands. Numair came up from behind her with a large book and handed it to her. She opened it up and was immersed into the world of anatomy. Numair pulled up a bench and they sat down as he started to explain an elephant to her.

* * *

Eventually, they had to leave. Even though all the visitors had left long ago, all the trainers and volunteers were leaving, too. They hopped into Numair's car and started driving to Daine's apartment. On the way back, Numair couldn't help asking, "So why don't you trust guys easily?" 

Daine, who was zoning out, snapped back into reality and became tense. "How do you know that?"

"You told me on the bus when we first met." He didn't mean for Daine to become guarded, but he wanted to know. "And also our conversation today kind of hinted at that."

Remembering the conversation when they first met and their incident this afternoon, Daine relaxed slightly and replied, "Ask me later." Seeing Numair's questioning and somewhat hurt look, she quickly replied, "It's not that I don't want to tell you, I'm just not ready yet. I will tell you later, I promise. Just give me some more time."

Numair smiled at her. "Don't worry. I'll be here ready to listen when you are ready to tell me." He pulled up to the sidewalk in front of Perin and her's apartment. She opened the door and got out; whispering a thanks quickly hurried to the door, trying to keep the snow off of her new book. She walked upstairs and opened the door to her apartment, glad to see that Perin wasn't home yet. She quickly got ready to bed and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, dreaming, to her delight and dismay, about her handsome professor.

* * *

The next morning, Perin apologized, like he always does, and made her a lovely breakfast, though had to leave before he could eat it with her. But that suited her just fine, because she now had some time alone to contemplate what Numair had said to her last night. 

"_Don't worry. I'll be here ready to listen when you are ready to tell me."_

She was happy she wasn't being pressured to tell, like Perin did occasionally. _'It really is my fault that he is getting angry with me. I would be getting angry with myself if I was in his position. I never told him about my past and don't plan to any time soon, which must be frustrating to him.'_ But, for some reason, she couldn't help but remember that neither Numair nor Evin ever pressured her into telling them, but Perin was her boyfriend, so he should know. Daine decided to thrust this out of her brain and cleaned her dishes. She grabbed her bag and headed off to the bus, awake, unlike the previous day.

Numair was on the bus already, like he usually was. She walked over to him and sat down in the spot he always reserved for her. They shared hellos and then fell into comfortable silence, though Numair was dying to tell her something. Once he got back from their lesson, he called one of his friends who was teaching a self-defense course. He figured that this might give her the confidence to be less guarded. She had happily told Numair that she would love to teach his "prodigy" student. So now it was time to pop the question…

"Daine, I have a friend that teaches self defense classes for women and I wanted to know if you would be interested." Upon seeing a questioning glance from Daine, as if asking, "Why would I need that," he elaborated on his plan. "See, I figured that it might give you the confidence to trust guys easier. Because if they do end up being jerks, you can kick their ass."

Daine smiled at this thought, thinking of trying to throw Numair over her shoulder, but just laughed at this thought. She calmed down and replied, "That sounds fun, though I would like to meet your friend before I decided anything officially."

Numair smiled his charming smile and said, "That sounds great to me."

* * *

**Who is Numair's friend? You'll find out next chapter! Please R&R! Thanks to my beta Daughter of Nature!**

**And thanks to all those who reviewed: SOPROL, JustAnotherCrazyPerson, Blackheart Feather, and ImmortalLover. Until next time.**


End file.
